


After the Rooftop

by remreader



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Literal Sleeping Together, Missing Scene, Post-Iron Man 2, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21839239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remreader/pseuds/remreader
Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin - what happened after Tony & Pepper's rooftop kiss in Iron Man 2.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 31
Kudos: 109
Collections: Tony Stark Flash Bingo





	After the Rooftop

**Author's Note:**

> (written for Tony Stark Flash Bingo square 011 - shy)

It was nearly three in the morning by the time Tony and Pepper finally finished putting out the literal and figurative fires in the immediate aftermath of the Stark Expo debacle, made it back to Tony's Manhattan apartment, and painstakingly got him out of the battered Mark VI suit. They stood there for a moment, neither one quite sure of what to do now that the adrenaline was wearing off and they were faced with the enormity of the night's events, of the rooftop.

Avoiding the obvious topic for discussion, Pepper pointed instead at the circle of light resting next to Tony's heart. "So that's the new… can I see it?"

Tony nodded and wiggled his arms out of the undersuit he'd been wearing beneath the armor, pulling it down to expose his chest. Pepper reached out and pressed her hand against the arc reactor. It was brighter than the first one and the light of it spilled through her fingers, illuminating the space between them with a soft blue glow.

"You like it? I kind of...wrecked the 'shop making it, you'll see, it's a mess, but it's pretty cool, right?"

Pepper didn't answer, instead shifting to trace her fingers lightly along the jagged metallic lines still radiating out from the edges of the reactor. "And this?"

"That'll take a while to fade," Tony explained, "but it's ok, I fixed it. I'm not dying anymore, I promise. Well," he cocked his head to the side and grinned impishly, "not any more than everyone else is."

Pepper pulled her hand back but didn't move away. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper, sounding more hurt than angry.

"I- I wanted to tell you. I almost did, I mean I _tried_ \- the omelet and the, well the strawberries, which I admit was a complete disaster…"

"So was the omelet," Pepper muttered under her breath.

"I thought- I thought it would be better this way. It didn't look like there was going to be a way out this time so I thought if I could just-"

"If you could just push everyone that cares about you away, somehow it would hurt less?" Pepper interjected, cutting right to the heart of the matter like she always did. "Hurt _who_ less, exactly?"

"I-" Tony shrugged and lifted his hands up slightly then dropped them back to his side. "I got nothing, Pep."

"You're an idiot, Tony." Pepper whispered softly.

"I know." He grabbed Pepper's hand and started toying gently with her fingers. "And I'm sorry."

They stood there quietly for a bit until finally Tony broke the silence, asking hesitantly, "Will you stay with me?"

"I-" Pepper started. 

"To sleep, just sleeping!" Tony quickly clarified. "I know we need to talk before anything, um, else happens, and I want to! Talk. And we will, I promise… it's just, it's been a long...everything and I don't, I don't want to be alone tonight."

"You don't do 'just sleeping'," Pepper responded, sounding skeptical.

Tony smiled wryly. "Would you believe me if I said I'm trying to make some changes in my life?"

Pepper took a step back, studying him, and eventually nodded.

Tony wasn't entirely sure if that meant _yes, I believe you_ or _yes, I'll stay_ or _yep, you're definitely a babbling lunatic and I'm leaving_. He decided not to ask. "Right. Well. I'm going to get myself out of the rest of this," he gestured to the undersuit he was still half wearing, "and get cleaned up a bit. So, um, make yourself comfortable. If, um, you want to…" He trailed off awkwardly as he backed out of the room and into the bathroom.

 _Shit._ Tony thought, mentally kicking himself as he peeled the undersuit off and hopped in the shower for a quick rinse off. _'Make yourself comfortable' what the hell was that, Stark? You're going to go back in there and Pepper's going to be gone and it'll be exactly what you deserve after the mess you've made of this from the start._

But when he walked back into the bedroom after the world's fastest shower he was met with a sight that stopped him dead in his tracks. Pepper, clearly having taken the "make yourself comfortable" instruction to heart, had changed into one of his AC/DC t-shirts and was already in bed, sitting propped up against the pillows apparently fully engrossed in something on her phone. Before Tony had a chance to do much more than gape stupidly while his brain struggled to process Pepper (!) in his bed (!) wearing his clothes (!) she glanced up, noticed him blue-screening, and couldn't help smirking slightly in response.

"Sorry, Pep, I'm trying but this," he waved his hand in her direction, "is filling like twelve different fantasies right now."

Pepper sighed, but she was clearly amused, not upset. "I'm taking it off if you're going to be like that."

"And there's thirteen!"

Ignoring this last, Pepper instead angled her phone towards Tony and tapped the screen to direct his attention to what she'd been reading. "There's already a bunch of reporting on what happened at the Expo, we're going to have to coordinate a formal response first thing in the morning. And the London Stock Exchange is about to open, we'll start to see what kind of a hit we're taking…"

Tony realized what she was doing - acting like this was a normal, natural thing for them and not something brand new and a little bit scary - and he loved her for it. He followed her lead, pulling back the covers on his side of the bed (and wasn't that something, having a _side_ ) and sliding in next to her. He hesitated for a moment - he really, really didn't want to screw this up - and then went for it; scooted over until he was snuggled against Pepper and reached across to wrap her in a loose hug. "So what's the damage, boss?"

Pepper gave Tony a soft hopeful smile, brushed her fingers lightly through his hair, and then wrapped her arm around his back, pulling him in closer. "Nothing we can't handle."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this, I just really like the idea of Tony & Pepper only (literally) sleeping together on that first night after the kiss ❤


End file.
